Shuttle ejector



G. CADORETTE SHUTTLE EJECTOR Nov. 10, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 22, 1952 INVENTOR. GEORGE CQDOQETTE A TTORNE Y G. CADORETTE SHUTTLE EJECTOR Nov. 10, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 22, 1952 INVENTOR. GEORGE CADORETTE BY A TTORNE Y Patented Nov. 10, 1953 SHUTTLE EJECTOR George Cadorette, Hopedale, Mass., assignor to Draper Corporation, Hopedale, Mass, a corporation of Maine Application April 22, 1952, Serial No. 283,727

6 Claims.

This invention pertains to shuttle ejectors for looms which, for example, may be manually operated to pick the shuttle out of the box or across the loom as desired.

It is a general object of the invention to improve such shuttle ejectors so that a minimum of effort shall be required to pick the shuttle manually and to provide mechanism simple in nature, inexpensive, and which shall be of rugged construction so as to require a minimum of care.

It is a more specific object of the invention to devise a pedal-operated shuttle ejecting means which shall normally be maintained in operative position and out of the way of the shuttle picking parts, but which may be used to eject the shuttle from the box or to pick it across the loom by operating upon and through the usual shuttle picking means which functions under power.

In fly shuttle looms the shuttle is normally picked by a picker stick engageable with the shuttle through a picker and which is periodically operated under power derived through a pick cam, pick shaft and a pick arm and lug strap connection for each picker stick. The shuttle is frequently to be removed from the shuttle box in which it is frictionally held and at times it is desired to pick it across the loom manually. That is not so difficult in certain looms, especially at the side of the loom which is relatively free of other mechanism, but at the replenishing side it is rather difiicult for the weaver to get a hold on the shuttle and to move it from the box in which it is rather tightly held, and especially, to impart to it the necessary momentum to pick it through the shed and across the lay to the opposite side of the loom.

Various manually operated shuttle ejecting means have been devised, for example, those shown in United States Patents 1,551,246 and 2,248,847, but in all instances, the mechanism is either complicated and expensive, or is not operated with as much physical ease as is desired especially since looms are cared for by many persons who have no great amount of physical strength. Generally speaking, these ejectors operate through a foot pedal and the term manually operated is here used to include either hand or foot operated devices.

Briefly, the invention includes a supporting bracket mounted at a suitable position near the base of the loom and adapted to have borne there in a shaft at one end of which is provided a foot pedal and at the other end of which is provided an arm. The latter has at its free end provision for engagement with a complementary part of the pick arm to which is pivoted a link or lug strap connecting means of more or less conventional type and which imparts the picking movement to the picker stick. The manually operated means is held in inactive position by resilient means or by a counterweight so that it has no aifect and is not contacted by the picking mechanism during normal operation of the parts. Whenever it is desired to pick the shuttle from the box manually, the operator places his foot on the pedal and presses down with a reasonable force so that the picking mechanism is caused to operate in much the same manner as it does during loom operation under power and thereby effects a picking movement of the picker stick which, through the picker, forces the shuttle out of the box or across the loom to the opposite side of the shed depending upon the amount of effort imparted at the pedal.

Normally these shuttle ejecting means are provided only at the side of the loom at which replenishment occurs, but if desired, the parts may be duplicated at the other side,

The invention will be described by reference to one specific embodiment thereof as illustrated in the figures of drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the shuttle ejecting means in the position occupied thereby when employed to pick or eject a shuttle.

Fig. 2 is a view taken at the right hand end of the loom and showing it as seen from that end, certain of the parts having been cut away or shown in section in the view thereby to depict the remaining mechanism more clearly.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the invention as applied to a conventional loom and showing in full lines the position that the parts occupy when inactive and when the picker stick is at the outermost extent of its travel.

Fig. 4 is a section taken at line 4-4, Fig. 3, and showing parts as seen in plan.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing a modification in which a spring rather than a counterweight maintains the parts in their inoperative position.

Now referring to Fig. 1, enough of a conventional fly shuttle loom has been illustrated to show the manner in which the invention is applied thereto and the mode of operation thereof. The loomside It carries certain operative parts including a pick shaft H on which is mounted an elongated hub H from which depends a pick arm l3 preferably of two parts as illustrated thereby to provide a certain amount of adjustment as to its length or leverage.

A rocker shaft M (Fig. 3) is borne within suitable journals at the loomside and carries at its outer end a parallel mechanism generally indi cated by numeral I5 to which a picker stick [5 is attached for pivoting movement and for control all in a manner understood by those familiar with this art and therefore not necessary of any further description here. It should suffice to say that the picker stick, the parallel motion, rocker shaft and attendant parts are conventional in all respects.

The picker stick carries a picker ll adjacent its upper end which engages a shuttle S and is adapted to pick or propelthe shuttle across the loom during the weaving cycle in a manner understood by those skilled in the art, that function being accomplished through certain pick cams (not shown) but which function upon a follower or pick ball l8, Fig. 3, rotatable at the: end of an arm I9 which is in turn fixed to or a part of the hub l2 and which serves under the influence of thepick cam, to swing the arm i3'from the full line position of Fig. 3 to the dot-and-dash line position. It is to be understood that certain adjustments are possible at various points in the mechanism so that a greater or lesser angular movement of the arm may be provided, and consequently, more or less movement at the picker stick realized, these factors being dependent upon the particular loom, shuttle, and the type and speed of weaving involved for a particular installation.

The lower end of the pick arm l3 has pivoted therto at 20 one end of a lug strap connection 2!, the other end of which is held in a lug strap support 22 fixed to the picker stick.

The mechanism thus far described is old and well known to those skilled in the art. The in vention involves a means adapted upon manual operation to cause the shuttle to be picked a suitably attached at the end of the shaft so that its movement is imparted through the shaft to an arm generally indicated by numeral 29 and which is likewise mounted at that end of the shaft, the arm being offset somewhat from the center of the shaft as it extends upwardly at 3|. It has a hub 36- retained in position on or adjacent the end of the shaft.

The arm 29 extends toward and is in alignment with an extending member forming a part of the lower end of the pick arm l3, in this particular case, an extension or elongation of the pivot pin 23 by which the lug strap connector 2! is attached. When properly adjusted the swinging movement of the pick arm is insufiicient for the extension or pin 20 to contact arm 29, and astop member 32 is attached by a screw 33 at the inner side of the loomside and that part thereof which overlaps the pathway of the arm 21 of the pedal serves as a limiting stop for the manually operable part of the mechanism.

A counterweight 34 tends to maintain theparts in inactive position.

The arm 29 is adjustable as to its angular position on the shaft since for different purposes, a particular loom may have its pick motion adjusted so that the arm [3 moves throughout different angular extents or to different extreme positions. A short arm 35 has its hub 36 keyed and set screwed to the end of the shaft 25 adjacent the hub 30 of the arm 29 and also has an enlarged andslotted end'31 by means of which it is connected to the arm-29; thereby to render it effective for moving that arm throughout an angular extent as governed by the pedal movement. A bolt 38 is passed through a hole in the arm 29"and also through an elongated slot 39 in the end3'l of the arm 35 being clamped in position by nut 40: The adjustment of the arm 29 involves loosening: the set screw in the hub 30 and nut 40, whereupon angular movement between the arm 29'and the arm 35 may be effected after which the parts are again clamped in position. It is not absolutely necessary to have a set screw at the hub v30, although one is normally employed so as to make it less necessary to provide a particularly accurate fit between the bore of the hub and the shaft. If desired the slot 39 may be formed in the arm 28 and the bolt may be passed through a hole in the end of arm 35. in which event it would. not be necessary to enlarge that end and a hole mightbe easily cored in the combined arm and counterweight which are relatively wide at that particular point.

In some instances it may bemore desirable to provide an angularly bent part at the upper end of the arm 3i or a laterally extending pin or other projection may be provided for engagement with the arm 13 so that it will not be necessary to project pin 2!! as herein described and illustrated. These changes are more or less reversals.

Now referring to Fig. 5, a slight modification is shown, the parts being similar in all respects to those heretofore described except that instead of employing a counterweight 34 by means of which the parts are maintained in their inactive or inoperative positions, a spring 4| may be attached to a stud or pin or other connecting means 42 at the arm 26 and to any convenient fixed part or projection from some adjacent point at theloomside ID, as' herein illustrated, to a pin 43 projecting from stop member 32 From the foregoing disclosure it is believed that the operation of the device should be clear and that while one embodiment and a slight modification only have been disclosed, the inventive concept may be carried out in a number of ways. The invention is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but is intended to embrace all variations and modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a fly shuttle loom having a shuttle, a picker and picker stick for picking the shuttle and means for actuating said picker stick including a pick shaft, a pick arm and means interconnecting saidv pick arm and picker stick for imparting movementfrom the former to the latter, an improved shuttle ejector means which comprises a support means, a shaft borne in said support means, a foot pedal fixed to said shaft, an arm fixed to said shaft and engageable with said pick arm at substantially the point at which it is connected to said means through which it actuates said picker stick so that upon depressing said pedal, said arm will effect ejection of the shuttle through the pick arm, interconnecting means and the picker stick.

2. In a fly shuttle loom having a shuttle, a picker and picker stick for picking the shuttle and means for actuating said picker stick including a pick shaft, a pick arm and means interconnecting said pick arm and picker stick for imparting movement from the former to the latter, an improved shuttle ejector means Which comprises a support means, a shaft borne in said support means, a foot pedal fixed to said shaft, an arm fixed to said shaft and engageable with said pick arm at substantially the point at which it is connected to said means through which it actuates said picker stick so that upon depressing said pedal, said arm will effect ejection of the shuttle through the pick arm, interconnecting means and the picker stick, and means for normally maintaining said pedal and arm in an inactive position.

3. In a fly shuttle loom having a shuttle, a picker and picker stick for picking the shuttle and means for actuating said picker stick including a pick shaft, a pick arm and lug strap interconnecting means for said pick arm to said picker stick for imparting movement of the former to the latter, an improved shuttle ejector means which comprises a support means, a shaft borne in said support means, a foot pedal fixed to said shaft, an arm fixed to said shaft and extending in a direction toward said pick arm, means projecting from said pick arm at its free end in the pathway of said arm fixed to said shaft so that upon depressing said pedal, the said arm will move the pick arm, lug strap interconnecting means and picker stick thereby to eject the shuttle, and means for normally maintaining the pedal and arm in an inactive position.

4. Mechanism as defined in claim 3 wherein the means for retaining the pedal and arm in inactive position comprises a spring.

5. Mechanism as defined in claim 3 wherein the means for retaining the pedal and arm in inactive position comprises a counterweight.

6. In a fly shuttle loom having a shuttle, a picker and picker stick for picking the shuttle and means for actuating said picker stick including a pick shaft, a pick arm and lug strap means connecting said pick arm and picker stick for imparting movement of the former to the latter, an improved shuttle ejector means which comprises a supporting bracket, a shaft borne in said bracket, a foot pedal fixed to said shaft at one end and an arm fixed at the opposite end of said shaft, an extension at the free end of said pick arm in the plane of movement of said arm fixed to said shaft so that when said pedal is depressed the arm rill engage said extension and move said pick arm thereby to eject the shuttle by the picker and picker stick, and a counterweight forming a part of the arm fixed to the shaft for normally maintaining the pedal and arm in their inactive position in which the free end of the arm is beyond the range of movement of the pick a-rm.

GEORGE CADORETTE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,551,246 Doherty Aug. 25, 1925 2,24=B,847 Brown July 8, 1941 

